A NINE-GUN salute roared over the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Friday afternoon, October 24, 1952 at the birth of Prince Stephanos, the son of Mengesha Seyum and Aida Desta.
It was a typcal welcome for any male member of the royal family, however, Emperor Haile Selassie, his great grandfather, and the Empress Menen along with his father, were in Eritrea at the time for the much-awaited federation meetings.
As soon as it was announced that Aida Desta had given birth in the hospital named after her grandfather, Mengesha Seyum rushed back to Addis to be with his wife. It was her fourh child; she would have three more. The family would eventually comprise: Rupta (Rebecca), Mikhail (Michael), Yohannes (John), Stephanos (Stephen), Seyum, Jalyce and Menen.
The name, Stephanos, was given him by his aunt, Ruth Desta, who would marry later in life after her child-bearing years were over.
At the time of Stephen's birth, his father was governor of the province of Arussi in the southern part of the nation, although it was called Arsi in Old Ethiopia. He had accompanied the Emperor in 1952 because he was originally from Tigre province, which bordered Eritrea; it was there that his father, Ras Seyum, had been governor-general.
The upbringing was protected, although not distant from the general population because of the "down-to-earth" approach of both his mother and father, even while they lived in the Imperial Household.
Stephen's stay in Arussi was shortlived, only two years, but by his third year, his parents had moved to another southern province, Sidamo. At age five, he moved to Addis, where his father became minister of public works and communications.
He remembers the move to the capital.
PRINCE STEPHEN: Coming back from a rural area to a city like Addis, even though it was small, it was quite a change. The move also brought me back into the royal nursery at the palace and one thing I remember was the Emperor always watched newsreels every night. So we watched a movie every night in the palace.
As for his relationship with the Lion of Judah, Stephen described it this way: "I was very close to him. He was very warm. That's one thing that never comes out. To me, he was like a grandfather ... He was firm. If he liked you, you got your way. If he didn't like you, you didn't get your way. As for my relationship with him, I was like a pet, probably."
Then Prince Stephen's world changed dramatically.
He was only eight years old.
